Engine & Transmission Removal No.2 (Part 1)

So I have now taken out the engine and transmission for the second time. This blog is called Part 1, as I will write Part 2 when I work out whether I can put it back in a couple of days from now. Why is it out? It has a very small oil leak from the front left of the sump seal with the block. The good news is that I broke my previous record for removing a bare engine of 1 hour 18 mins. I can now remove the engine in 42 minutes flat. This has also led me to a redesigned engine and gearbox mounting trolley as can be seen in this photo.

On initial inspection the oil is coming out from the corner bolt on the timing chain cover all the way back to the 3rd sump bolt behind the dipstick plug. All up this is over about 6 inches of distance, although its hard to tell whether its just leaking in one spot and tracking to the lowest spot before dripping. So up onto the engine stand. This also meant removing the gearbox, and the clutch plates to get it mounted which is a bugger. First job is to drain the oil and remove the sump.


Removing the sump showed me the first problem. The bolt (which is No.1 in the bolt pattern) directly to the right of the drain plug was not tight. This is a 25mm bolt supplied by Raceline for the sump, which is longer because the sump flange is thicker here. No amount of tightening gets this any tighter???. Once I had the sump off, this showed that perhaps this was the main problem because the RTV sealant either side of this bolt had not properly sealed as it would when fully torqued. This can be seen at the top of this photo, just to the left of the oil filter.

The other problem I notice is that I have sealant everywhere, including nearly completely blocking one of the main oil galleries into the sump. One thing that has changed since I first fitted the sump is that I have managed to source the actual engine build manual from Ford for the Duratec. As a male, reading any manual is usually considered optional and only then after trying to do it without the manual first. What the manual has showed me is that I did not layout the RTV sealant on the right path, and I probably used to much as I had it beaded at about 7mm and the manual calls for a 2.5mm bead. So yesterday was spent removing all the old sealant from both mating faces and polishing these back to new so I could reseal them. I sourced some Loctite 5900/598 RTV sealant this morning and set about refitting the sump. I prepped the nozzle to create a thin 2.5mm bead, however getting a consistent bead from a toothpaste size tube is nearly impossible by hand . Five minutes later, after lots of swearing and having sealant all over me, I had managed to layout a passable thin bead on the correct path. I refitted the sump and put the bolts back in. Tightening them to the correct torque and using the correct tightening sequence I quickly had it back together. EXCEPT for the problem bolt, which is still not tightening, even though it tightened OK without the sump flange in place. I figured there is something wrong with the top of the thread, and quickly grabbed an M8 bolt that was 10mm longer. This bolt went in OK and I was able to torque it correctly and see the sump pull in tight at this point.  Hopefully the bead of sealant I have laid is OK and the problem bolt was the only issue. 


So what I have I learnt from this. LOTS!

• Where possible, try to add any fluids before you fit any major components to make sure you have a seal. The engine oil could have been added weeks ago when the finished engine was still on the stand, and I would have noticed the leak then. I even thought about doing it but never got around to it. I was lucky that I didn't start adding other engine components as I waited 48 hours after adding the oil to see if it leaked (it took the 48 hours to show up and even then it wasn't much).
• Get the right manual for the bit you are doing and read it thoroughly. Had this not leaked and I had run it with the oil gallery blocked I hate to think what could have happened to the engine.
• Always have spare bolts for the job you are doing, and also having other lengths of the same size bolt can come in very handy. My fastener collection for this car is growing daily.
• When applying sealant, make sure its done with an applicator that allows constant pressure such as a syringe/plunger or caulking gun. 

I will let the sealant cure for 24 hours before adding the oil again. I will then let it sit on the stand for another 48 hours to see if loses any more oil. Hopefully then Part 2 of this particular topic will be about reinstalling the engine and not a for sale notice for a half built Birkin!